Piirpauke, led by Sakari Kukko, has been a pioneer of world music for many years. Sakari Kukko is a visionary, world traveler and multi-instrumentalist from Finland. When he formed the first line-up of Piirpauke he was immediately awarded with a hit. Since that first success with a poignant Karelian folk tune, Sakari has guided his ever-improving line-ups on musical journeys through the Balkans, Turkey, Africa, Latin America and points in between.
Since attaining accolades as one Finland’s top jazz saxophone players in the early seventies, Sakari has steadily added to his array of flutes and woodwinds on his world travels – and he’s also an accomplished keyboardist. The countries he has roamed for exotic musical inspiration are too numerous to mention, but he has resided both in Colombia and Spain.
While taking a temporary leave of absence from Piirpauke and playing with an another international line-up in Spain a few years ago, Sakari was enthralled by the rare beauty of Andalusian vocalist Cinta Hermo. She was spirited to Finland just in time to be featured on some tracks of Piirpauke’s Algazara album and with her soulful voice blending perfectly with the eclectic melodies, it was decided that she should become a permanent addition. With Cinta’s vocals as another focal point, Piirpauke added new dimensions to its many-faceted forms of instrumental fusion. A notable but natural change also occurred in Spanish having become the band’s main language both in song and in communication between the current members, as the fiery Senegalese percussionist and singer Ismaila Sane, who joined Piirpauke in 1989, had been living in Spain long enough to become a Spanish citizen and Sakari speaks it fluently, of course.
After the release of the 1991 album Tuku Tuku, Piirpauke operated as a trio consisting of Sakari, Cinta and Ismaila with occasional guest appearances from people like Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. They felt that the trio format gave all of them a lot of possibilities to showcase their amazing talents and virtuosity.
In 1994 Piirpauke celebrated the band’s 20th Anniversary with a major tour that also featured old members Hasse Walli on guitar and Antti Hytti on bass. In January 1995 Piirpauke was the first Finnish band ever to play a MIDEM concert in Cannes, France. This led to a licensing deal with Spanish label Horus for a compilation CD called Cinta Hermo y Piirpauke: “Arbole”, which was released in Spain in May 1995.
In 2003 Piirpauke featured Sakari Kukko on sax, Ismaila Sane on percussion, Ville Herrala on bass and Joonas Ahonen on piano. A new album, Laulu Laineilla was released on January 2003.
Piirpauke 30th Anniversary album Ikiliikkuja – Perpetuum Mobile, a compilation of past years, was released on October 2004. The band’s 30th Anniversary concert was hold on 8th October at Savoy-Theater Helsinki and was a big success.
Discography
Piirpauke (Love Records, 1975)
Piirpauke 2 (Love Records, 1976)
Piirpauke Live (Love Records, 1978)
Yö Kyöpelinvuorella (Ponsi, 1980)
Birgi Bühtüi (Kerberos, 1981)
Kirkastus (Kerberos, 1981)
Live in Europe (Kerberos, 1983)
Ilahu Illalla (Kerberos, 1984)
The Wild East (Jaro Medien, 1986)
Algazara (Jaro Medien, 1987)
Zerenade (Jaro Medien, 1989)
Tuku Tuku (Jaro Medien, 1991)
Terra Nova (Rockadillo Records, 1993)
Metamorphosis Live 1977-1995 (Rockadillo Records, 1995)
Ave Maria (Rockadillo Records, 1996)
Laula sinäkin (Rockadillo Records, 1998)
Kalevala Spirit (Rockadillo Records, 2000)
Sillat (Rockadillo Records, 2002)
Laulu laineilla (Rockadillo Records, 2003)
Kalabalik (2006)
Koli (Rockadillo Records, 2010)
Ilo (Rockadillo Records, 2012)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
